What Verkada does
Verkada Inc. is a privately held physical security company based in San Mateo, California. It sells six product lines (video security cameras, access control, environmental sensors, alarms, workplace visitor management and intercoms) and manages all of them through one cloud application, Verkada Command. Cameras record to on-board storage, so customers do not need separate on-site video recorders.
Founders and leadership
Verkada was founded in 2016 by Filip Kaliszan, Benjamin Bercovitz and James Ren, who had built the Stanford course-review site CourseRank (later acquired by Chegg), together with Hans Robertson, a co-founder of Meraki. Kaliszan has been CEO since the company's founding.
How it makes money
Customers buy devices and a per-device Command license for a multi-year term. The license covers cloud management, updates and AI features, so Verkada earns both hardware and recurring software revenue. In March 2026 the company said 78% of core customers use two or more product lines and that the average customer nearly doubles its initial spend within a year.
Scale and growth
Verkada reported more than 31,000 customers, including more than 100 of the Fortune 500, and more than 2 million devices online across 171 countries in March 2026. It said revenue grew 30% in its latest fiscal year but did not disclose the amount. It also opened offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles and a hub in Dubai.
Funding and valuation
- 2018: $15 million Series A led by Next47
- 2019: $40 million Series B at a $540 million valuation, co-led by Meritech and Sequoia
- 2020: $80 million Series C at $1.6 billion, led by Felicis
- 2022: $205 million Series D at $3.2 billion, led by Linse Capital
- February 2025: $200 million Series E at $4.5 billion, led by General Catalyst
- December 2025: CapitalG-led investment at $5.8 billion
- July 2026: undisclosed investment from NVIDIA
Security record and regulation
In March 2021 attackers used credentials for an internal support tool to view live feeds from customer cameras. The FTC later alleged that Verkada's security failures enabled the breach and that it sent marketing emails without honoring opt-outs. A 2024 court order imposed a $2.95 million CAN-SPAM civil penalty and requires Verkada to maintain a comprehensive information security program with independent assessments.
Outlook
Verkada has not announced IPO plans. Its near-term focus is AI: the NVIDIA partnership applies Cosmos models and Physical AI Data Factory tools to video search, alongside features such as unified timelines and AI-powered alerts. Privacy rules on surveillance AI and competition from Axis, Motorola Solutions, Hanwha and Cisco Meraki are the main constraints.
